the united nations voted earlier to recognize palestinian statehood. though the u.s. voted no, there were cheers on the floor of the general assembly. hillary clinton sounded hopeful about dealing with iran and its nuclear program. she says there's still a window of opportunity to resolve that issue. and former george h.w. bush is being treated at a hospital for bronchitis. he may be released this weekend. now back to "hardball ". >>> back to "hardball." let's take making a deal here. for all those at home who want to see republicans and democrats work together to avoid the fiscal cliff, we can bring you two lawmakers who are open to cutting a deal before the end of the year. with me are members from both sides of the aisle, u.s. congressman lee terry, a republican from nebraska, and u.s. congressman jerry connolly, a democrat from nearby southern virginia. but first, i want to start with you. you told the "omaha world herald" this about republicans, we're screwed either way. we have no leverage in these discussions. congressman, what did you mean by that? >> what i m